Appealing Registration Authority Decisions pertaining to CPEng

Decisions of IPENZ as the Registration Authority under the CPEng Act can be appealed to the Chartered Professional Engineers Council. The types of decision that might be appealed include:

1. a decision not to register (i.e. competence was not demonstrated)
2. a decision not to re-register (i.e. competence not demonstrated for continued registration)
3. a decision made in respect of the outcome or penalty in respect of a disciplinary action resulting from a complaint

In (a) and (b) above, the CPEng Rules allow the opportunity for engineers to make a submission regarding their competence assessments prior to the Competence Assessment Board making a final decision, as well as allowing declined applicants to request a procedural review by an independent reviewer without the need to appeal to the Council. Appeals to the Council should only be made after these avenues have been fully explored. The IPENZ procedures for investigating and hearing complaints also provide an opportunity for final submissions, and this opportunity should be used prior to lodging any appeal.

Appeals must be lodged within 28 days of notification of the decision by the Registration Authority.  Appellants can request an extension of time to lodge an appeal, but they must make such a request within the 28 day period.

The contact address for the CPEng Council is:
The Chairperson
Chartered Professional Engineers Council
Level 4
32 The Terrace
PO Box 3058
WELLINGTON

The CPEng Council has prepared "Appeal Practice Notes".  Anyone considering lodging an appeal with the Council is encouraged to familiarise themselves with both the practice notes and the "Chartered Professional Engineers of New Zealand (Appeals) Regulations 2002".